It’s genuinely a bit crushing when you clock that, after 7 years, we’ve gone nowhere under the Shanahans.
Some great memories, cancelled out by some horrendous ones. Great community stuff which will have to be scaled back as revenue craters. The ground looks a bit better for the same hardcore who were here in the dark days. Thousands of fans gained and then almost immediately lost.
The net progress by May 2026 will be pretty much zero.
I’m not one to expect or demand the 2nd tier, but I truly thought we’d had at least had a few seasons in the third. Is that really so much to ask? What we had under Smurthwaite and Bratt, for Christ’s sake.

I think that nails it. Even under some of the worst owners we've ever had, we actually did better for much of the time. It's hardly a ringing endorsement for Carol is it?

16 minutes ago, Vale1995 said:

She can cut it . Get her gone. I want a team i can get behind. Ive had enough of turgid football ever since our last time in league one she has completely neglected it. And ive had enough cut the loans <ovf censored> her off . Someone will buy us and it they dont id have more fun us doing a bury than I would at the monent atleast they are building something together where our owner clearly gives zero <ovf censored> about us 

If you don’t like turgid football, then you are probably supporting the wrong club. The vast majority of the last 25 years had been pretty turgid. People have short memories. 

Without Carol we would most likely be a national league club. Yes this season hasn’t gone to plan but to say that you want her gone?…….. how many other people would want to invest the same amount money ? 
 

, 

 

1.34 points a game needed now to hit 50.

Over the course of a season, that would be 62 points, which usually gets you 10th.

We’ve now got to deliver 10th placed results for the rest of the season, having delivered generationally poor ones up this point.

Make your peace. Accept relegation so that it doesn’t hurt when it inevitably arrives in early April.

1 minute ago, Chopper Harris said:

If you don’t like turgid football, then you are probably supporting the wrong club. The vast majority of the last 25 years had been pretty turgid. People have short memories. 

Without Carol we would most likely be a national league club. Yes this season hasn’t gone to plan but to say that you want her gone?…….. how many other people would want to invest the same amount money ? 
 

, 

 

She’s only investing so much money to undo the avoidable mistakes where she ignored fan warnings.

Her directors loans shot up in 23/24, which happens to be the Crosby/Flitcroft  shambles we warned her about.

It continued to be high last season as she undid the damage done by ignoring the fans the previous year.

She really doesn’t need to spend this much. If she listened to us (whenever the entire fanbase turns) then we could have saved her millions.

3 minutes ago, Chopper Harris said:

If you don’t like turgid football, then you are probably supporting the wrong club. The vast majority of the last 25 years had been pretty turgid. People have short memories. 

Without Carol we would most likely be a national league club. Yes this season hasn’t gone to plan but to say that you want her gone?…….. how many other people would want to invest the same amount money ? 
 

, 

 

Well theres 90 or so owners of football clubs in the football league so you making out shes the only person in the world that would want to own us is ludicrous. Im entitled to my opinion and ive had enough of her vanity project she hasnt got a clue what shes doing simple dont like it thats up to you but ive had enough 

1 hour ago, JohnDoe said:

Ive stopped going now. And it’s probably too late to change things now. My worry is that carol will stick with Moore even if we get relegated, as hes got promotion before. But I couldnt even cope with watching a Moore promotion team any more, never mind a relegation one. If people think getting rid of Moore is costly, then they need to also account for the drop in season tickets/walkups 

Same thing happened when we wanted V2001 out. The abuse I received off some of the older contingent was horrific. The attitude that they were above us rabble, while simultaneously verbally and physically attacking us nearly turned me away from the club for good. 

You and Alan are really struggling with the fact youve dug in so deeply and your ego wont allow you to admit you are wrong. 

None of them do John these are the same people that slated folk for wanting Crosby gone the same people that rinsed the Huddersfield fan on here for telling us what was to come same people that think the owner can do no wrong. She’s very very wrong yet again not one twice now in little over 2 years! Bringing the community together or pushing a fanbase away???? 

Just now, Swanny-pvfc said:

None of them do John these are the same people that slated folk for wanting Crosby gone the same people that rinsed the Huddersfield fan on here for telling us what was to come same people that think the owner can do no wrong. She’s very very wrong yet again not one twice now in little over 2 years! Bringing the community together or pushing a fanbase away???? 

But nobody on planet earth would want to own us so we have to sit by and watch our lord and saviour turn is into an absolute shambles of a football club

7 minutes ago, JoeB2 said:

1.34 points a game needed now to hit 50.

Over the course of a season, that would be 62 points, which usually gets you 10th.

We’ve now got to deliver 10th placed results for the rest of the season, having delivered generationally poor ones up this point.

Make your peace. Accept relegation so that it doesn’t hurt when it inevitably arrives in early April.

April? Ahahaha we will be down by end of feb

1 minute ago, Vale1995 said:

But nobody on planet earth would want to own us so we have to sit by and watch our lord and saviour turn is into an absolute shambles of a football club

She needs a football head in alongside her run the football  side because quite frankly she hasn’t got a clue and well out of her depth until that happens we’re knackered when you make the same mistakes over and over it normally means your not very good at your job. 

13 minutes ago, Vale1995 said:

But nobody on planet earth would want to own us so we have to sit by and watch our lord and saviour turn is into an absolute shambles of a football club

All she needs to do is invest in a quality DOF and bring in a quality manager. Let her have full run of the club except football related matters where she obviously is out of her depth. Off the field we are in a far better position than when she took over. 

11 hours ago, Fosse69 said:

It wasn`t a business deal, it was a player using his rights unfortunately in August.

Then it was bad business in the first place not to tie him in to a tighter contract.  If the club thought he had potential, which clearly it did, a more sensibly constructed contract would have ensured he stayed.  Presumably whoever put together his contract on signing im thought that a £1.2 mill release clause was good business.  Clearly not, with his scoring ability where would we be in the league now?  I rest my case.

14 minutes ago, Swanny-pvfc said:

She needs a football head in alongside her run the football  side because quite frankly she hasn’t got a clue and well out of her depth until that happens we’re knackered when you make the same mistakes over and over it normally means your not very good at your job. 

But the DF experiment was hardly a success was it?  As the saying goes; once bitten...............

When l listen to what he says in interviews and the like, it always sounds like illogical, rambling non-sequitur gibberish - and it always has done. From day one, his bilge about creating "wonderful charnces", "togetherness within the group" and hilariously the recent "wonderful synergy" between Cole and Paton has bemused me. I wonder if in his head he's some kind of football intellectual. I'm sorry to say but he sounds full of rubbish.

As has been alluded to elsewhere, it's easy to get the impression he feels he's doing us a favour being here - and his overall demeanour since the Plymouth game has been noticeably subdued. I'm sure he feels affronted that we've had the temerity to question his methods and tactics.

As for his disconnection from the fans, frankly I couldn't care less. Rather like Carol's inability to maintain a distance from employees, it's all doomed to go sour once things go wrong on the pitch. We never expected Rudgey to do performative fist-pumping to the crowd after every win and I don't know why anyone needs it now. 

 

16 hours ago, Guitar Ray said:

Agreed, almost a free hit with 2 away games over Christmas, then hopefully recruit a few players in Jan.  New manager bounce, failing that rebuild for league 2.  A real wasted opportunity.

I thought that it was quite odd that Moore mentioned in his prematch about Peterborough having the new manager bounce when Williams was appointed, something that we absolutely never saw when Moore came to the Vale.  In fact it was quite the opposite.

Edited December 21, 2025Dec 21 by NellyTheValiant

6 minutes ago, Bycarsbill said:

But the DF experiment was hardly a success was it?  As the saying goes; once bitten...............

Just because Flitcroft was bad doesn’t mean Carol has to dispense with any football expertise.

He didn’t even have any executive experience! He was a manager who talked his way into a different job.

We should be hiring an experienced football executive, not a man with Community experience at Burton.